For most of their lives, the dogs knew little beyond the cold metal beneath their feet.
They lived inside bare wire cages on a farm in Cheongju, South Korea, where dogs had been raised for the meat trade for decades. There were no soft beds, toys or open fields. Some of the animals had received so little proper food that their bones had become deformed. Among them were frightened adult dogs, pregnant mothers and newborn puppies.
In May 2025, rescuers arrived to give 67 of them a different future.
Humane World for Animals entered the farm after local authorities shut it down over animal cruelty violations. Actor and animal advocate Daniel Henney joined the rescue team, helping remove dogs from cages that had confined them for much of their lives.
A life reduced to a metal cage
The farm had been operated by a man who had bred dogs for human consumption for approximately 40 years. He had previously served dog meat at a nearby restaurant and continued supplying animals to slaughterhouses and markets after selling the business.
Authorities closed the site in February 2025 after finding that dogs had been slaughtered there in violation of South Korea’s Animal Protection Act. Humane World for Animals was then asked to help remove the surviving animals.
Most were Jindo mixes, a type of dog frequently found on such farms. Rescuers reported that the animals had lived with almost no comfort or stimulation. Several were suffering from nutritional problems, while others were so frightened that they did not understand what was happening when people approached their cages.
For some, being lifted into a rescuer’s arms was likely the first gentle human contact they had ever experienced.
The cage doors opened one by one
Daniel Henney helped the rescue team carry the dogs away from the rows of cages.
The actor had already been closely connected to the campaign against the dog meat trade. In 2020, he adopted Juliette, a golden retriever rescued from another South Korean farm. This time, he stood among dozens of animals still waiting for their first safe home.
Henney described the scene as difficult to witness, particularly because he knew what dogs from these farms had endured. He said he was proud to support the campaign that helped secure a national ban on the industry.
The rescue did not end when the animals left the farm.
Each dog required veterinary examinations, vaccinations and careful rehabilitation. Animals who have spent years confined in cages can be afraid of ordinary experiences, including walking on solid floors, hearing household noises or being touched.
Learning to live as a companion animal can take weeks or months.
Fifty dogs began a journey to America
The first group of 50 dogs was transported to a rehabilitation center in Maryland, United States. There, they began receiving medical treatment and behavioral support before being transferred to shelter and rescue partners.
Another 17 dogs, including mothers and puppies too young to travel, remained temporarily at a shelter near Cheongju. They were expected to follow once they were healthy and old enough to fly.
Three other dogs from the same farm found adoptive homes in South Korea.
For the remaining animals, the journey across the world represented their best chance of finding families. Rescuers said dogs associated with meat farms can still face stigma in South Korea, even though attitudes toward the industry have changed considerably.
The farm will no longer raise dogs
The man who operated the farm said he intended to replace the cages with rows of chili plants and move fully into crop farming.
His decision came as South Korea prepared to eliminate its dog meat industry. A law passed unanimously in January 2024 will make breeding, killing, processing and selling dogs for meat illegal when it comes fully into effect in February 2027.
Official figures cited by Humane World for Animals showed that around 40% of dog farms had already closed by 2025. The organization had previously helped shut down 18 farms and rescue more than 2,700 dogs through its farm-transition program.
For the 67 dogs taken from the Cheongju farm, that change arrived in time.
Their lives had begun inside wire cages, but they would no longer end there.
For the first time, they had soft bedding, regular meals, veterinary care and people preparing them for homes of their own.
